With the declining of secondhand ship price, Greek owner has shown strong interest in the acquisition of Panamax bulker.

According to a shipbroker in Piraeus, the asset values for secondhand Panamax bulkers have been close to the historical low till now. Besides, the expectations for future bulker demand after market recovery is quiet bright. As a result, Greek owners are very optimistic about the investment in Panamax bulk carriers.

Greek owner Franco Compania Naviera has recently purchased a 76,600dwt bulker “Euro Trader” (2009-built) at a price of $21.5m, only 25% of the price five year ago.

At the same time, Greek owners have paid close attention to Kamsarmax bulkers in the last month. Ariston Navigatoin has purchased a pair of 81,500dwt bulkers at a cost of $31.5m. Besides, another 81,500dwt Kamsarmax unit “Chance” has been acquired by Delek Transport at a price of $29.0m. Another Greek owner George Lazaridis say that they are more interested in resale vessels than five-year secondhand ships with resale vessel values keeping increasing recently.

With the recovery of 2014 freight rate market, ship purchases and acquisitions are expected to continue in the short future.